Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake

Since there's a definite snow-blivion going on outside (yes, in Virginia Beach, VA), I'm in the mood for baking. What to bake? Well, I just have this cream cheese getting to room temp on the counter, a couple of sticks of butter that are begging to be melted, and a yummy can of pumpkin puree. Hmmm.... Paula Deen's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake! A couple of people I know that have made this cake and they LOVED it, even non-pumpkin-lovers. So of course, I just had to try it! Be forewarned: this recipe involves 2 sticks of butter! This is not for the health-conscious! The recipe goes a little like this:

Cake Bottom:

• 1 (18 1/4 oz) package yellow cake mix (I used butter recipe golden)
• 1 egg
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (15 oz)n can pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) butter, melted
• 16 oz of powdered sugar (about 2 cups)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 baking dish (I used an 8 x 8 Pyrex dish)
2. Combine cake mix, egg, and 1 stick melted butter into a bowl and mix with electric mixer (you can use an old-fashioned wooden spoon). Pat the mixture into the bottom of the baking dish.

3. For the filling: In a large bowl (this part I used the Kitchenaid for), beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the 3 eggs, the melted butter, and the vanilla.

 4. Add the powdered sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, and mix well (don't forget to scrape down those sides!)

5. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake bottom and bake for 40-50 minutes for the 13 x  9 and about 55-65 minutes for the 8 x 8. The center should be a little gooey-- set, but gooey.

Gooey success!

For best results, serve with whipped cream (as seen above).

Some variations I found were a chocolate peanut butter flavor (with chocolate cake mix and 1 cup peanut butter used instead of pumpkin) and a pineapple flavor (with 1 cup crushed pineapple instead of pumpkin).